The Communist Party of India (Marxists) demanded the cancellation of the contract given for quarrying sand in the Palar River in Kalathur near Kaveripakkam, the withdrawal of all cases “foisted” by the police against the residents of the Adi Dravida Colony in Kalathur who protested against the indiscriminate mining of sand in the Palar River in the village, and the release of all those arrested in connection with the agitation.
Giving this information to newspersons at Kalathur on Monday after meeting the residents of the Kalathur colony, G. Ramakrishnan, CPI (M) State Secretary said that the government should also take action against the police officials responsible for the filing of “false cases” against the colony residents. He said that during the campaign for the 2011 Assembly elections, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam general secretary Jayalalithaa gave an assurance that if the AIADMK came to power, it would prevent the plundering of sand in the rivers. But the plundering has been going on unchecked for the last four years, he said.
Asked for his comments on the arrest of 26 fishermen from Tamil Nadu and Puducherry in Palk Straits on charges of poaching in Sri Lankan waters on Saturday night, the CPI (M) Secretary said that the arrest of the fishermen deserved to be condemned in the light of the fact that talks were continuing between the Sri Lankan and Indian governments on the demand of Indian fishermen for permission to carry out fishing for 83 days in a year in the Sri Lankan waters.
Earlier, speaking to the residents of the Adi Dravida colony in front of the Bhajanai Koil on the outskirts of Kalathur, Mr. Ramakrishnan said that the CPI (M) would invite experts to study the problem of sand mining in Palar and see what could be done to rejuvenate the river which become totally dry. He said that the Madras High Court has asked the government to find an alternative to sand which was so vital for the construction industry. This aspect would also be studied by the CPI (M), he said. While the farmers dependent on the Periyar, Vaigai and Thenpennai rivers were carrying out agricultural operations with the help of the river water, the farmers dependent on Palar alone had been affected by the depletion of water resources in the river on account of sand mining.
Movement to prevent plundering of Palar
He wondered how the District Collector who was in the know of things allowed the indiscriminate quarrying of sand in the river. The CPI (M) will support the fight of the people against the district administration’s act of allowing the plundering of sand in the Palar River till the contract was cancelled and the “false cases” were withdrawn, he said, adding that the party would launch a movement to prevent the plundering of Palar River in August.
